High-Fence 226-Inch Whitetail Escapes, Shot in Louisiana

The Louisiana native had just bought a brand new bow over the summer and had every intention of using it all season long. But the first time she saw that buck, she knew it was time to get down to business.

And now she has quite the trophy to show for it.

Trading her bow for a 7mm Mag, Broussard shot this 226-inch monster whitetail over Thanksgiving weekend on her father’s property near Moss Bluff in Calcasieu Parish, La.

It’s a kill that almost didn’t happen. Broussard later found out that the buck — which weighed just 160 pounds — was an escapee from a fenced-in deer enclosure over a mile-and-a-half away. Escape is probably one decision the deer regretted.

And therein lies the problem. The 31-point beast isn’t going in the record books, according to a report from KPLC-TV. Because the deer was tagged and owned by the RiverRoad Whitetails ranch, the deer cannot qualify as a state record.

Broussard said she had tracked the buck for nearly a month on her father-in-law’s 480-acre property near Moss Bluff. She first spotted the buck while training her horse on the property, and said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw it.

“I honestly for s second I couldn’t believe it was a whitetail,” Broussard said. “That’s how big this deer was.”

For the next few months, Broussard and her family tracked the buck with trail cameras. She spotted the deer several times in a treestand set up about 26.5 yards from a feeder, but the sightings amounted strictly to close calls, including two straight days where the buck — which Jacey said “sounded like a train” coming through the brush — made an appearance close to her stand before disappearing back into the brush.

Some taunting from her father-in-law, who jokingly printed off trail cam photos of the deer on Thanksgiving, only motivated her more.

The following Saturday, Broussard returned to the stand, dead-set on getting the kill. At first, she said, she played on her cell phone to keep her awake and occupied, but decided to get serious at about 8:30 a.m., put her gloves on and put the phone away.

“It wasn’t 10 minutes later, he comes running out to my right … and he ran between me and the feeder, and I shot him when he was running,” she said. “He jumped straight up in the air, and his left leg kind of locked up on his side and he took off running. He fell maybe 15-20 yards to my left.

Photo courtesy of Jacey Broussard

“It was crazy. I couldn’t believe I finally got this deer after all the hard work and my father-in-law just torturing me about it. It just still amazed me that I saw him four different times and I was the only one to see him until everybody came up to see him that afternoon.”

It wasn’t long after the family discovered the buck had been tagged and was owned by RiverRoad Whitetails ranch, managed by Gene Trahan, who had done business with Broussard’s father-in-law in the past, she said, speculating that the deer had probably escaped the ranch several weeks ago when an electric fence was being renovated.

Broussard said Trahan and the ranch employees have been great about the situation. In most cases, hunters who shoot tagged deer must reimburse the owner for the amount of the animal, and may be asked to return the kill. In this case, however, Broussard said Trahan was thrilled that she was the one to shoot it — he even allowed her to keep the deer, which is currently at Steve German’s Taxidermy Art in Westlake, La. The buck will soon be mounted at Broussard’s home.

“They’ve been just amazing,” Broussard said the ranch officials. “… They’ve been so great about this deer.”

But what about the record? Well that’s secondary, if you ask Broussard. Though she had originally heard the tag wouldn’t have mattered in Boone & Crockett scoring, that didn’t quite turn out — a tough break, considering the reigning Louisiana buck scored 195. Still, though the record eluded her, Broussard said it can’t possibly take away from the experience.

“There’s nothing on Earth that can take that away,” Broussard said.

What do you think? Are high-fence escapees eligible for the record books, or should they be disqualified?

may be it had time to breed Leaving great offspring that may be records

charleyhog

whoop di fizz !! she shot a game farm deer comming up to a feeder not a trophy by any means any one can shoot a deer that escapes a deer farm and is used to going to a feeder in my book it is like fishing in a aquarium if I had hunted over a bait it wouldn't be hunting ban baiting 1 get off your butt and find a real wild deer by your scouting " anyone can shoot a animal that is used to seeing people and eating from a feede" wouldn't even consider it a trophy buck that I worked for tracking finding his lair his escape routes his regular traveled paths what he eats (non feeder crap) you may as well shot this one in a fenced area.

applepickers

charleyhog, I am sure if you had the chance you would have shot the deer, and then you probably would have lied about where you killed it so that you could get in the record books.

charleyhog

no i would definatly never 1. bait or hunt over bait 2. i would have seen that deer in a deer farm near by , it was that same deer & I would have known it . I hunt national forest areas no where near any game farms. NO GUIDES , FOOD PLOTS, OR GAME FEEDERS , i track /stalk and work for each deer/elk i harvest

Ron

Ok! Daniel Boone. You also chip you own arrow tips out of stone to? and use no modern technology, good more game for us.

applepickers

Try tracking a deer in the snow inFlorida.

DotteBoy 76

Hey D Bag!!! She didn't know it came from a farm until after the fact!! I you didn't know that the deer was from a farm you would shoot him too and don't deny!!! And You probably don't use any kind of deer or elk scents or calls or anything to attract a animal do you?? Hmmmmm….

joey boudreaux

i agree with you to man she shot a fish in a agaurium.

Asewell3

Keep in mind that the deer was shot in Louisiana and it was shout in south Louisiana which is some extremely hard hunting. You said in another one of your comments that you also hunt elk implying that you’re not from Louisiana. I have hunted deer all over the country but never have I seen deer that act like these in Louisiana. The hunting is harder than anywhere I’ve ever hunted.

ParkO

Totally agree with Charleyhog. This topic isn't even worth the discussion of records. It blows me away these people call themselves hunters. Try and shoot a Blacktail in Northwest Country and I'll bet they begin to understand what our ancestors went thru and maybe appreciate the sport of hunting. Not killing a farm animal. Shame On You!!

applepickers

What have you got? spoken like someone who has never been hunting.

loveagoodhunt

I agree that the deer shouldn't be entered into the record books, as farm grown deer grow bigger antlers than wild deer. I disagree concerning the payment for shooting a tagged deer escaped from a farm, and returning it as well; where in the law books is that required? Good for you girl. Enjoy!

stephen

Doesn't sound too easy to me. There are times I can't find my horse in 80 acres of mostly trees. I'd surely have shot it if it presented the chance. Congratulations to Jacey!

Bayouboygto

Your horse?

Redwing88

Beautiful woman and huge buck–what a combination!

I'm Jealous

It's a shame that we hunters, persecute everyone that does not hunt in the same manner that we do. This young lady did her homework and scored a really nice trophy. Congratulations are in order. I would love to have that deer hanging on my wall. But I have to agree that pen-raised animals should not qualify for the record book. More than likely this magnificent animal has been used for breeding and has already passed his genes on to many other deer that hopefully will someday be just as awesome.

javis

I agree not in the record book, But congratulation young lady.I would have a smile on my face too.

eri hermann

all the kudos to her beeing out there hunting she didnt know where the deer came from gongrats to jacey from eric az.

Craig G form ND

Congratulation on a great deer. Not knowing it was pen raised dosn't make it any less a trophy if you see something like that you can't tell me you wouldn"t take it it may not make record book but so what.

Bob—ND

I agree not knowing this was a pen raised deer, I'm sure it was a trophy to her. I would have shot it too. I would be even happier that I took it when I found out it came from a game farm. Get rid of pen raised deer in the wild. Game farm bucks are not a part of and have no place among natures natural trophys. Game farm animals shot be shot (taken out of the natural gene pool as soon as possible) hopfully before they have time to breed. Game farm animals are man made genetic freaks. They also are responsible for introducing diseases to the wild animals. They sould not be allowed into the record books of wild animals. If game farms want them entered into the record books they should have their own catagory.

syncerus416

Okay, time to interject some facts. First off as far as she knew the deer was a wild animal so there is no reason to criticize her. Second, there is no law in LA that would require her to reimburse the owner. The animal was not on the owner's property and is a native LA species and as such there is no way it could be identified as being a captive animal. Third, there is no way the deer scores 226 as a typical. The LA record non-typical nets 281 6/8 so the deer in question would not come close to being the number one LA non-typical had it been a wild deer. While I agree a pen reared deer should not be in the records this was a different twist which gives the story added interest. However, it is a pen reared deer and she made no attempt to misrepresent that fact once she knew the animal's origin.

http://www.facebook.com/curt.a.hopkins1 Curt A. Hopkins

You live a mile and a half away from a deer farm, know the owner of said deer farm, see a truly unbelievable monster buck on your property and you don't think it was high-fenced raised? I call idiot and/or liar.

Craig G from ND

Those of you that are wineing about it being pen raised are just jealous because you didnt shot it. The owner of this deer should have said something about it getting out months before then something could have been done about roaming free. it seem to me that the owner of the deer should have told the LA game and fish about so it could have removed ( from the wild herds).Theres onething about now its not roaming free anymore.

Iowa190

I think its pretty amazing that a woman takes time to appreciate the outdoors as much as she seems to considering all the other things people her age are in to these days. She looks to be on the right track to maybe kill an offspring in the near future (3-5 years) of that big beast? I have alot of respect for women that arent afraid to "get their hands dirty" like the guys…why be so harsh on the future of the sport? Im sure she could easily jump on the (its cruel and inhumane) bla bla bla like everyone else does but she seems to appreciate all the outdoors has to offer

tlrde3

Publicity stunt by both parties, river road whitetails is booking more hunts and selling more bredding rights at we speak. Smart buisness move on a slow ranch.

krl777

If I owned that property, I would immediately stop all doe harvest in the area that Buck was shot.

applepickers

For what reason?

Ken

Because you would hope that this buck would have bred some of the does on your property and his genetics would be a great addition to the deer herd.

Chris

Hunting over bait just isn't very sporting.

jwu22dh (DeerTexas)

Do those of you who say hunting over bait is not sporting hunt over cornfields or grain fields of any type. Well, If you do then you are hunting over bait. you need to come to Texas and try hunting by stalking only.

Nick

On field and streams website it said that the owner of the game farm did not know that the deer had gotten out. I dont care if it was pen raised or not, that is one nice deer.

Ken

By law all pen raised deer must have an ear tag in their ear. If this deer was seen so many times and even seen on a video recording, it seems to me that this ear tag would have been noticed. If this would have been me and I had seen an ear tag hanging from the ear I would have known this buck belonged to someone and was not a wild deer. Then I would have done one of two things. Either try to find out who the deer belonged to or left him alive so he could bred as many does as possible over the years.

DotteBoy 76

Did any of you negative folk read the article or are you just in awww that someone shot a farm raised deer on accident?? They aren't trying to put the animal in the record books it was the TV station bringing up the fact!!! And I'm so tired of the hunters that snicker about someone shooting a deer by a feeder….Just be happy that they are out there supporting the sport that we all love!!! Give it a break!!!

J.H. Danehower

I sit here reading all these comments and cant help but thinking about all you big bad deer hunting Daniel Boone wanna be's. Getting up hours before the light of day spraying deer piss all over yourself, climbing 30 feet in a tree like some kind of monkey, sit there all day and never see anything and if you did even if it had a wart on its head you would shoot it so fast you would pull something. This is the same bunch of people that tell one and other about how you let a ten point walk because it wasn't big enought. You guys watch to much TV. All of you need to be happy for this young lady and her HUGE deer I sure am happy that she killed it and not one you and save your breath by not telling me you wouldn't have shot it because not me or anyone else belives it. So stop crying, give the jealousy a rest and go sit in a tree and pout.
Jacey Broussard had the skill and did the work needed to take this great trophy. Instead of throwing rocks at her maybe you should ask her for help improving your skills. You go girl!!!!!

Rivetroad Whitetails

This is Gene,ranch manager for Riverroad Whitetails. Ur r rite he is beautiful and most guys wouldn't pass him up…..but what we want people to know. Is if u do see a tagged animal as this one was and th hunter decides to pull th trigger,he better b prepared to pay for it. In this case it would hav been appror 22k. We choose not to press charges because we knew th family. And for th other guy that said "where's th law that say we can sue". It's at Dept of Ag, and livestock dept at sheriff office. Deer farmers and exotic game farmers go thru dept of ag to obtain livestock lic just like cattle….hince all th tags and micro chip that we required by LAW to do. These animals r deemed "Alternative Livestock" as deemed by dept of ag. We r farmers. If a cow gets out does that make him fair game…hell no. U call th sheriff dept. Same goes for deer and exotics,if they r tagged. We r just tryn to educate th public so n th future mayb someone doesn't get n trouble. If another one of mine gets out u r welcome to wack it but I will get paid next time,friend r not. I would b happy to email u several cases similar to this n La. If th animal was tagged property,th farmer always wins. Thx u can call me Gene 3375401864

Riverroad Whitetails

Hi my name is Gene, I manage Riverroad Whitetails….we owned th buck. There is absolutly no fn way that a pen raised deer should go any free range deer record books. Jacey had several trailcam pics of th buck. If u can't see a giant red ear tag in th rt ear and a bright yellow n th left ear. I hav pics of her holding th buck with th tags still in it. Boon and Crocket is for free range…Safari club international,SCI is for farm raised deer when it comes to scoring. And 226" wouldnt make it SCI at all. I hav several friends n Pa.,Illinois and several other northern states that hav 280 to 300" yrling….yes yearlings. X factor is th world record and he was 509" at 3yrs. These big deer hav th best genetics,the best feed,no stress,clean water,etc. He is gorgous but that's about th stupidest thing I've heard,puttn that deer the books. I'm a bow hunter too. Red River,Tensas and let me tell u if u do ur home werk n th woods,and a lot of it….and the stars r lined up just rite. I would b jumping up and down to kill a 130" r 140" n th wild. which has never happened to me by th way,lol. Point being it is 2 diff worlds. U can't mix them. Although I will say,since I've been managing Riverroad Whitetatails I hav learned its not near as easy as u mite think. Especially when ur Lookn for one particular buck,it will generally take several days to make it happen. It is pretty cool watchn 170" to 250" walkn thur th woods and they r wild as any deer n wild. Also th deer was from Pa. so does a Pa deer go n La record books. Also boon and crock score deer differant than SCI. BC would hav several deductions. SCI scores all points,no deductions. Call r text me Gene Trahan 3375401864. Fb page is Riverroadwhitetals all one word. Peace guys and Happy new years! Ps…I will hav some 250" to 300" nxt yr

tyler eidson

o and by the way i hunt in corn/soybean fields!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow

charley hog! man lay off tha woman killed a bigger deer than you ever dreamed of give her some credit.. you dont know tha situation… do you walk in her shoes?? didnt think so good luck this season killing one bigger oh wait you wont more than likely cause i guess you think your rambo?

JOSH FLORES

YOU GUYS SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF CRAZY PEOPLE, WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM HERE….HUNTING COMMUNITY WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SAYING GOOD SHOT AND THANKS GOD FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE.

TFM

good job and most certainly good luck Jacey!!! dont let the 20 acre wine sippers deter the deer of a life time they are crying about bother you……..deer hunting isnt controlled by the union labors yet haha!!!

Lee Youngblood

This is a question for the manager of the ranch. How would you have recaptured the deer if you had been told where he was. Could you have recaptured him?

Brad bowman

Would u have claimed that buck if someone run over it an got hurt leave the lady alone an let her enjoy folks

Dave Jones

im soooo jealous! Great job sis! Wish it was hangin on my wall and so do a lot of others! Good luck in 13!

Bow hunter

If a tagged deer escaped and came onto my property, I would shoot it. I don’t think any deer farmer should get pissed. Yeah, it sucks for you that it escaped, but I don’t think the hunter should be penalized for your lack of ability to keep the animal on your property. I’m opposed to High Fence hunting and farm raised deer. That’s just my opinion. I think it’s just BS to raise deer like chickens.